Image Credit: Sustainable Review
According to Ember’s 2025 Global Electricity Review. The world produced more electricity from renewable sources than from coal for the first time. In the first half of this year, renewables like wind and solar generated 5,072 terawatt-hours(TWh), while coal produced 4,896 TWh.
China was a major contributor, with solar output up 43% and wind up 16%, and a slight drop in coal use. India also saw strong growth in solar and wind, which helped cut power sector emissions by 3.6% . Globally, solar generation jumped 31% and wind 7.7% adding enough electricity to meet rising demand. However, the picture isn’t the same everywhere: the U.S. slowed its renewable growth due to policy changes, and in Europe, higher demand and poor weather caused coal to make a temporary comeback .
While renewable energy is clearly on the rise, it still isn’t growing fast enough to meet the UN’s climate goals. Full details can be found in the Ember Global Electricity Review 2025 .
Ember. (2025). Global Electricity Review 2025.
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2025/